Desire in Frost (8 page)

All the stress I’d been feeling lately caught up with me in one big wave at that very moment. I couldn’t breathe. Someone was out there, someone who wanted to hurt me. I gasped for breath.

“Crystal.” Robin rushed to my side. Suddenly, his anxiety about telling Teddy left him and was replaced with sympathy for me.

I couldn’t let Robin see me like this, but that thought only made me gasp harder. Robin’s arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me into his chest. I wanted to enjoy this, to take in his scent and let his embrace envelop me in a serene encounter, but I couldn’t get past the fact that someone had just vandalized our car and it was all because of me. What would they do if I pursued my visions any further? Would they hurt me? Would someone else get hurt because of me? I trembled with fear, wondering if the perpetrator was still nearby. I couldn’t help but sob into Robin’s shoulders.

“Crystal, shh. It will be okay. I was overreacting. Teddy will understand.”

I shook my head. Robin didn’t comprehend my true fear.

“We’ll figure things out, Crystal. It will be fine.”

Robin pulled me in closer. I took this opportunity to bury my face in his chest. He smelled good, like a fresh spring morning. I inhaled his scent to soothe myself. He gently kissed the top of my head, and I almost pulled away in surprise, but then his arms came around me tighter, and I let myself melt into him.

When my sobs ceased, I finally pulled away. I wiped at the tears on my face. “I’m sorry,” I said with a nervous giggle. “That was really embarrassing.” I hated that I’d been crying so much lately.

“No,” he insisted. “It’s fine. I understand.”

I expected him to say something witty, but he didn’t. I finally nodded in agreement. Only, he didn’t understand how terrible the situation truly was. What if the person who did this was still hanging around? What measures would he take the next time I tried to pursue a path in which my abilities led me? I couldn’t just ignore my abilities and the messages they sent me, even if I did go on the wrong path. Would the vandal come after me?

Robin was standing up now and had his phone to his ear. My heart pounded in anticipation of Teddy’s reaction.

I heard a muffled voice on the other end of the line, but for the most part, I could only hear Robin’s side of the conversation.

“Uh, hi, Uncle Ted,” Robin greeted nervously. He laughed, probably his way of leading Teddy into bad news. “What would you say if something bad happened to your car?” Pause. “No, I was driving safely. We’re both fine. It’s just . . . well, here’s the thing. We went out to eat, and when we came back, your car was kind of damaged.” Pause. “Well, not kind of. I mean, the tires are slashed and everything. Looks like someone thought we were an ex-boyfriend or something.” Robin laughed again to ease the tension, but we both knew this wasn’t a laughing matter.

I finally got to my feet while Robin spoke and walked to the front of the car to inspect the damage. That’s when I saw it. I glanced over at Robin briefly, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me. I reached in through the smashed passenger side window and snatched the letter from my seat. I stared at it through blurred eyes for a few moments before focusing on the words. My hands quivered, so I gripped the piece of paper with two hands to steady it.

“STAY AWAY!” was all it said, sprawled in surprisingly smooth letters.

I heard Robin’s voice grow louder as he turned back toward me. I quickly balled the note up and shoved it in my pocket, trying desperately not to let my quickened pulse show through in my expression. I couldn’t let Robin believe someone had targeted us. That only meant I would have to tell him I was psychic, and I still didn’t want to do that. I was sure he wouldn’t believe me and would only push me away.

“No!” Robin practically shouted into the phone. “I mean, coming here doesn’t really make sense. We can find someone to fix the car.”

“Where exactly are you!?” I heard Teddy shout from the other end of the line.

Robin looked around nervously. “Like, four hours north or something. Look, Teddy, really, there’s no reason for you to come here. That’s just another eight hours of driving for you, and you’ll have to get the car fixed somewhere around here anyway. We’ll be fine.”

My jaw nearly dropped to the pavement when Teddy agreed. When Robin finally hung up, I stared at him wide eyed. “Teddy’s just going to let us handle this ourselves?” I asked.

Robin ran his fingers through his hair. “I know. I can hardly believe it either, but I guess my logic made sense to him. I don’t think I could handle him seeing this. We’ll have it fixed soon and be back on the road in no time.”

“He didn’t say anything about us being here?” At this point, I was certain he’d be more upset about me disobeying him than he would be about his car.

Robin just shrugged, which left me to believe Teddy was upset at me and Robin wasn’t about to repeat what he said.

Robin searched his phone for a nearby garage and towing service. When he finally found someone, he told me they wouldn’t have the right tires in until tomorrow and that we’d have to wait. Robin called a few other places nearby, but tomorrow was the best any of them could do.

I shook with nerves when Robin called Teddy back to give him the news. I was shocked when Teddy said we had no other choice but to stay the night and wait for the tires to come in. He made us promise to call the police and get a report filed before we had the car towed.

I was mostly calmed down until I saw the squad car drive into the parking lot. Luckily, the parking lot was secluded enough that we didn’t have any onlookers. The note felt hot against my thigh, but I knew I couldn’t tell the officer about what really happened here. My family and friends had been supportive when I found out I was psychic, but I didn’t think a stranger would be. I didn’t know how to explain my situation in any other way no matter how much I wanted to tell the officer this was a targeted attack.

I watched nervously as the officer stepped out of his vehicle and approached us. “Officer Brown,” he introduced himself, sticking out a hand toward us. Robin shook it firmly, but I think my nerves showed through in my grip.

Robin immediately jumped into an explanation of what had happened. “We just came out of the restaurant and saw it like this. We’re not even from around here. I figured it was a random hit. I’ve been looking around, and it doesn’t look like the restaurant has any security cameras.” He pointed to the areas where security cameras would be. The officer’s eyes followed Robin’s gaze. Mine did, too, but I didn’t spot any security cameras anywhere. I was shocked that Robin was calm enough to notice this.

A sickening sensation overcame me the more I thought of the attack, which gave me a good excuse to not really pay attention to anything the officer was saying. I didn’t feel like I could talk to him about what really happened, so I let Robin answer most of the questions.

Soon enough, pictures were taken and the officer had our witness report before he was on his way. I purposely left out a few details, like that I had a vague idea of who the vandal was.

Maybe I should just stop pursuing this
, I thought briefly, but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t just let this go.

Shortly after the police officer left, someone came to transport our car to the garage. “You two need a lift somewhere?” the guy asked. I hadn’t even thought of that. What were we going to do while we waited for the car to get fixed?

“No,” Robin said. “I saw a hotel down a couple of blocks. We’ll stay there and then get a bus or something to bring us to the garage when you’re done with it tomorrow.”

A hotel? Like, I was going to be sleeping in the same room all alone with Robin? In almost any other situation, two teenagers in the same hotel room alone at night would be completely inappropriate. Then I had to remind myself that we were practically cousins.
Although not blood related
, a voice in the back of my mind—which sounded a lot like Emma’s—reminded me.

Robin shared his feelings about the vandalism with me on our walk to the hotel. “Bad luck, I guess,” he kept saying. We arrived at the hotel before I even realized it. It wasn’t super fancy by any means, but it was a step up from the run down motel we stayed at on our way to Florida.

I briefly wondered how we were going to book a hotel room as two young teens, but somehow Robin wooed the desk attendant into letting us stay. I was grateful for my mom’s credit card when I handed it over to pay for the room.

I looked around the lobby while I waited for Robin to finish talking to the desk attendant. There was an area for a continental breakfast, a sitting area with a TV mounted against the wall, and a payphone around the corner. Before I knew it, Robin was getting my attention and leading me toward our room.

“How did you do that?” I asked once we reached the second level.

“Do what?” he responded, only I heard a hint of smugness to his voice that told me he knew exactly what I was talking about.

“Get us a room. I thought you had to be at least 18 or something.”

He quickly flashed me an object in his hand, but it disappeared too quickly for me to process what it was.

“Is that a . . .” I paused in realization. “You have a fake I.D.?” I hissed.

We reached our room, and Robin slid the key card in the door. “A guy can have a bit of fun, can’t he?” He smiled a sideways smile before pushing into the room.

I fell onto the bed closest to the door. Everything that had happened earlier came crashing down on me all at once. Completely exhausted, I let the fatigue overcome me, and I drifted off in no time.

It felt like only minutes later that Robin was lightly shaking me awake, but when I opened my eyes, I noticed it was getting dark outside. I was calmed by the fact that I’d had a nightmare-free sleep but also slightly disappointed that I hadn’t learned anything new to point me in the right direction.

“How was your nap?” Robin asked with a smile.

“Surprisingly good,” I answered honestly. “What’s up?” I sat in bed and rubbed my eyes, forcing my body to wake.

“Hear that?” Robin pressed a finger to his hear. We both paused for a moment, and I strained to hear whatever he was talking about. I did hear it. A deep bass pulsed through the walls of our hotel room.

I stared up at him. “Music. So what?”

“Not just music. A party.”

I didn’t take my eyes off him. “And?” I paused. Oh. “You want to go?”

He shrugged and then walked over to the other bed and sat on it. “You’ve just been so down lately. I’ve noticed you’ve been crying a lot.”

I almost cringed at the thought that he’d noticed.

“It’s just,” he continued, “this is supposed to be our vacation. It’s supposed to be fun. I thought it might get your mind off of things for a while.”

I recalled how I had gotten my mind off things before and it led to the vision of the funeral. Maybe if I did it again, I could finally figure out the missing piece to the puzzle. But I couldn’t go to a party. Apparently my expression gave away that thought.

“Come on,” Robin insisted.

“Robin, look at me.” I gestured toward myself. “No one is going to let me into a party.” I glanced over at my reflection in the mirror on the wall. I was too skinny with small boobs and no hips to speak of. My face was that of a 12-year-old’s, not a 15-year-old’s, and certainly not any older.

Robin leaned across the space between the beds and gently touched a finger to my cheek. He was so close now that I could feel his breath on my face. My cheek flamed in the spot where he was touching it. He stared deep into my eyes, but I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at him. I glanced anywhere but his eyes: the clock on the nightstand, the lamp in the corner of the room, and his lips. I was suddenly overcome with a desire to kiss him just to see what it would taste like. It would be my first real kiss.

My mind fought the thought as the rational part of me remembered we were almost related. But what would it be like?

“Crystal, you underestimate your beauty.” That was all he said, and then he pulled away. The place on my cheek where he’d touched it grew cold in disappointment.

Why was he being so nice to me? He seemed so rude and cocky before. What had changed? I couldn’t seem to sort this guy out the same way nothing else about this trip made sense in my mind. I swallowed, forcing the butterflies further down my stomach.

Robin stood and ran his hand through his hair again. “I just thought maybe you’d want to get your mind off things for a night.” He shrugged again like it was no big deal, but the look on his face told me that it was.

My heart dropped. My rejection for his invitation was only breaking his heart, and I couldn’t stand the thought of that. Somehow, I managed to put on a smile. “I’ll go. It will be fun.”

Robin beamed for a second before he realized how much emotion he was showing, and then his face fell back to its normal expression.

“Give me a minute,” I told him. I dug around in my purse and found some makeup. Although I usually went light on it, I tried making it darker so I would look older. A night out with Robin could end up being really fun, I thought. Besides, what else could we accomplish by sitting in our hotel room the rest of the night?

“How do I look?” I asked, not really expecting much of a response.

Robin took me by surprise when he looked up at me. He didn’t answer for several long seconds. A smile formed across his face, and then he said, “Honestly, you look really good.”

My heart fluttered. That was the second time he’d called me beautiful today. It wasn’t something I heard often from guys, so it immediately boosted my confidence. I pushed my hair out of my face and nervously thanked him.

While shoving my makeup back in my purse, I noticed a new notification on my phone. I quickly checked it and saw that I had a missed call from my mom along with a text.

Just checking in. Hope you two are alright.

Even without my abilities tingling my senses, I knew my mom wasn’t just concerned for my physical wellbeing. She was wondering how I was doing emotionally with my gift.

I swallowed nervously, unsure of what to say to her.

We’re okay
, I texted.
No need to worry. Love you.

Almost immediately, my phone vibrated in my hand.

I know, and I trust you. But I’m your mom, and it’s my job to worry. Love you, too. Stay safe.

I smiled at my mom’s encouragement before slipping my phone back in my purse.

“Ready?” Robin asked.

Soon, we were following the sounds of the pumping bass and I was leaving my troubles behind in the hotel room. The music grew louder as we walked. Eventually, we met up with a crowd of people swarming a grassy area. A band was playing on a stage, and some people were dancing near it. Others were seated on benches simply bobbing their heads to the beat. My confidence grew even more when I noticed that the majority of the audience was teenagers.

A gate lined the perimeter of the park. A few people stood near the entrance in matching red t-shirts that read “Autumn Fest Battle of the Bands.” Their shirts had the dates of the competition on them, and I noticed the event lasted all week—every night through Thanksgiving. We paid our admission fee and entered the premises to explore. Food vendors sat along the peripheral of the lot along with booths housing band tees and CDs.

I almost smiled when I caught Robin bobbing his head out of the corner of my eye.

“These guys are pretty good,” he said. “Almost as good as Echo Score.”

I was about to ask him who Echo Score was before I remembered that it was his band.
Almost as good
, I thought.
Of course he would say something like that
. I listened to the music coming out of the speakers, and I decided that he was right. Echo Score
was
better.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“What?” he shouted over the music while moving his body to the beat.

I leaned into him so he could hear. I could feel heat radiating off his body and was suddenly overcome with a desire to touch him, but I resisted. “What do we do now?” I repeated loudly.

Robin smiled that sideways smile that made my heart do flips. “We dance!”

I wanted to pull away from him and refuse his offer when he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the stage. His touch sent an electric current through my hand and toward the rest of my body. Suddenly, I didn’t want to let go. I couldn’t do anything but follow him.

A voice in the back of my mind scolded me. What was I doing thinking about Robin like that? I didn’t like him, and we were going to be related soon. Shouldn’t this be weirder than it is? Besides, what would happen if it didn’t work out between us? Every Thanksgiving and Christmas would be super awkward once Mom and Teddy got married.

Robin and I reached the space in front of the stage that people were using as a dance floor. The beat was great, and I chuckled when Robin swung his body to the beat. It wasn’t exactly spectacular dancing, but I could see his confidence shine through, which made him look even better at it. I’d never really danced much before. I didn’t know how. I smiled up nervously at him, half enjoying his outgoing nature and half trying to reassure myself that a night away from my worries was what I needed.

Robin leaned in close to shout in my ear. “What’s wrong?” His hot breath touched my skin, melting my insides.

“I don’t know how to dance,” I admitted.

He rolled his eyes at me, not in a condescending manner, but in amusement. “It’s easy. Just jump up and down. Sway your hips.”

I glanced around nervously and watched the girls around me for inspiration. I awkwardly tried to sway my body in the right direction, but it felt too weird.

Suddenly, Robin’s hands were gripping my hips and guiding them. “Like this,” he said, but I could barely hear him or the music over my own pulse pumping loudly in my ears. For a second, it felt like my heart was floating in my chest as it flipped anxiously. Then it was back, pounding against my rib cage.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Robin until he released me. I caught a glimpse of a circle of teens behind him who were jumping up and down to the music. I figured that was the best way to dance without embarrassing myself, so that’s what I did. Robin didn’t jump along with me, just sort of banged his head to the beat and added arm motions that surprisingly didn’t look half bad. As Robin and I moved more, I became more confident in my dancing. I was actually having fun! I jumped and giggled, and he stared back at me. The song ended then, and I stopped, unsure of what to do next.

“See? You’re having fun, aren’t you?” Robin asked.

“Yeah,” I admitted. “This was a really good idea.”

The band on stage said a few words and then began playing their next song. It was a slow, romantic song in complete contrast to their last one. People began moving off the dance floor, thinning the crowd. The few who stayed grabbed a partner and swayed slowly in a circle. I looked around nervously.
What do I do next?

I was about to find a bench to sit on when Robin’s hands settled on my waist. My breath caught, and I looked up at him in shock. Something about his expression sent my body immediately melting into the situation. I reached up slowly to test his reaction and then wrapped my arms around his neck. Should I be doing this? His hands gripped tighter around my waist, and he pulled me in. I briefly wondered what his girlfriend would think of this, but I couldn’t think far enough past his touch to worry too much about it. Besides, I knew I didn’t have a shot with him. I was practically his cousin, and I was too young for him anyway.

I blinked a few times, wondering what I was doing. When Robin’s arms held me in an embrace, I took it as in invitation to rest my head on his chest. I could smell the fresh spring scent again, and it made every sensor in my body come to life. I didn’t want the song to end.

What am I doing here?
I thought.
How did I go from hating Robin so much to being filled with this desire to never let him go?
I shuffled through my memories of the past few days.
When did things change?
I remembered when he opened up to me and told me he was insecure. He hadn’t been mean to me since. Did that conversation perhaps mean a lot more to him than I thought it did?

Actually, I recalled, he’d been nice to me since I made us chase after the wrong guy. Was he taking pity on me for embarrassing myself, or did he actually admire me for following my intuition like he said he did?

My head spun along with our movements as we slowly shifted to the melody. I closed my eyes to relish in the glory of his sweet embrace. When I opened them, I wasn’t on the dance floor anymore.